Reversible drive



REVERSIBLE DRIVE Filed Jan. 18, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

LOU/S E. MlS/PPO l wa HIS- ATTORNE).

Patented Aug. 9, 1949 REVERSIBLE DRIVE Louis E. Misippo, Boulder Creek; Calif. Application January 18, 1946,, Serial No.,642,0 9.6 i

1 Claim. (01. 74-66) My invention relates to drives, andmore'particularly to a reversible drive for ship propellers or the like,' though it is to be understood that the invention is of generalutility.

Among the, objects of my invention are:

(1) To provide a novel and improved revers ible drive;

(2) To provide a novel and improved reversible drive in which there isa complete absence of gears;

(3) To provide a novel and improved reversible drivehaving quick response in its reversing function;

(4) To provideanoveland. improved reversible drive wherein the change in direction of drive is accomplished in a smooth and efiicient manner; I I

(5) To provide a noveland improved reversible drive of rugged design andv construction.

Additional objects of .my invention will be brought out in thefollowing description of a pre-- ferred embodiment of thesame, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein- Figure 1 is .a plan view of a preferred embodi ment of my invention, partly broken away to. disclose some of. the internal elements; t

Figure 2 is an. elevationalview. partly in section, of the device of Figure 1;

Figure 3 embodies a. seriesof diagrams depicting a complete revolution of the drive shaft of the device, in-each of its adjusted positions rep-y resenting forward, neutral. and reverse drives.-

In general, theinvention-in its preferred:em-- bodiment, includes a drive shaft and a driven shaft, each terminating in a-icrank. Supported by and between these cranks, on swivel connections, is a connecting. link which slidably receives a cross-bar, and this crossbar in turn,is selectably connectable through a neutral position, to

either the driveshaft or; to a-fixed anchoragein the form of a sleeve surrounding the driven shaft. The selected; position of the cross-bar, in cooperation with the swivel link connection between the drive and driven shafts, determines the operation of the-device. V

Referring to the drawings for a. more detailed description of the preferred embodiment, a drive shaft I emerges'from a prime mover, such as an electric motor 3, and is supported in a bearing.

4 carried in a, bearing housing 5-mounted on .a bracket Lwhile a drivenshaft 9.Whih leads to the. load (notshown,butwhich. could be aships propeller) is similarly supported in a bearing l0 likewise carried in a bearing housing ll mounted on a. bracket l 3.

The facing ends of these shafts, each carry a crank in the form of a transverse arm having a pin l1 extending parallel to the axis of its shaft and in the direction of the other,

of the bearing'brackets land I3. A

2;; Supported by and between thesecranks by swivel connectionsfis a'connectinglink is. This link is formed with forked ends in each of which is mounted a swivel'blockil having anaxial bore to slidably receive the pin, H of" the adjacent crank. V V V 7 A cross bar 23 slidablyreceivable in a transverse bore through the link I 9, is adapted through suitable clutch means to be selectively connected to eitherthe drive shaft I or a fixed anchorage on the driven shaft 9 in the form of a collar 24, which may bev anintegral extension of the bearins lt, r i

Such clutch means includes a cylinder25 surrounding the cranks and the swivel mounted con necting link supported between them, with, the cross-barv lying diametrically of the cylinder and having its endsle'mbedded in the wall thereof.

The cylinder at each endis sealed by a fixed end plate 21 mounted on oneflof the aforemene tioned shafts and capable, of rotation thereon. Each fixedend plate functions as afixed clutch plate, and ispreferablyformed with a, frust0-- conical depression having its axis coincident with the axis ofthe shaft thatpasses through it.

A shiftable clutch element in the form of a.

frusto-conical discjil to'provide a complementary. fitwith an end plate.21 of the cylinder, is slidably. 'mounted on ,each shaft adjacent .an end of the cylinder, and provided with a tail sleeve 3|. J The drive shaft. disc and, .itsassociated tail sleeve is keyed to the drive shaft, ina. manner, as by a key 33, to preclude. rotation ofl the disc around the shaftQWithout impairing. its ability tov slide thereon. .The driven shaft disc, on the other has its tail sleeve overlapping which it is slidablykeyed as by a key 34.

, Engagement. of oneor the other of the clutch discs with its associated clutch plate is manually controlled through aishift mechanism, the shifting of the discs being simultaneous to preclude anypossibility of these discs engaging at the same time. Towardthis end, each tail sleeve is formed" with a peripheral groove; to-receive a split shift' collar 31.

Each shift collar is 39; which in turn has cured to an arm 43 mounted at the base of each link 45 pivotally' interconnecting the two yokes mediate point ontheir shanks, provides for simultaneousshifting of the .two clutch discs fiiin a common direction, whereby only one of the" clutch discs may engage at a time. The shift is accomplished manually through the expediency of a handle 41 extending upwardly from erably formed integrally with one of the yokes.

A forward throw ofthe handle will bring the drive shaft I into positive drive engagement with the cylinder 25 and effect a drive connection to hand,- the collar 24 topivotally secured in a yoke its shank M pivotally se'' at an inter and pref-.

the cross-bar 23. Under these circumstances, the cylinder 25 and link l9 may be considered locked into a unitary assembly, precluding relative sliding movement of the link on the cross-bar 23. In this condition, the drive shaft drives directly through to the driven shaft by way of the crank on the driven shaft, causing rotate in the same direction as the drive shaft, which direction, for convenience, willbe considered the forward direction. 1

Upon throwing the handle to its extreme position in the opposite direction, the drive shaft disc will disengage, followed by engagement between the driven shaft disc and its associated clutch plate. 7 With the driven shaft clutch disc in engagement with its clutch plate, the cylinder and consequently the cross-bar 'is restrained against movement, it being recalled that the driven shaft clutch disc is keyed to the fixed collar 24. With such conditions existing, the drive shaft crank operating on the link, causes the linkto execute a compound movement involving a reciprocating movement on thecross-bar and a simultaneous oscillatory movement on the cross-bar axis. This compound movement of the link is converted to a rotational movement of the crank on the driven shaft and in a direction opposite to that of the drive shaft crank. Thusthe driven. shaft will rotate in reverse.

Between the two extreme positions of the clutch shift handle, a condition exists wherein neither of the clutch discs is in engagement with its associated clutch plate. In response to the driving force of the drive shaft crank, the link is caused to undergo the same compound movement as previously described, namely areciproeating movement on the cross-bar while simultaneously oscillating on the axis of the cross-bar, but the movement becomes further complicated by the fact that the cylinder, being free of restraint, is capable of rotation and will cause simultaneous rotation of the cross-bar with it, with the result that the complex movement of the connecting link will be about a fixed point coinciding with the position of the pin on the crank of the driven shaft in the position it happens to be in when the clutch discs are freed of any engagement with their associated clutch plates.

Underthese conditions and assuming a mimimum of friction, no rotating component of force is transmitted to the driven shaft. Consequently the driven shaft will, in effect, be disconnected from the drive shaft. Thus with both clutch discs out of engagement, the device is in neutral condition insofar as the driven shaft is concerned.

The changeover from one mode of operation to another, though quickly effected, is nevertheless accomplished smoothly and efficiently, attributable largely to the fact that the enclosed working parts, through which the drive forces are applied to the driven shaft, are always in mesh.

Figure 3, by means of series of sketches, illustrates the various movements described as occurring under the conditions determined by the forward, neutral and reverse adjustments of the clutch mechanism.

the driven shaft to i For purposes of illustration and convenience, these diagrams assume a starting position as illustrated in Figs. 3a and 3b, which correspond to Figs. 1 and 2. The series 0, c1 and 02 are plan views for each quarter revolution of the drive shaft with the clutch adjusted for forward rotation of the driven shaft, while series d, 011 and (12 represent corresponding views in elevation.

Similarly, series e, e1 and 62 represent plan views for each quarter revolution of the drive shaft with the clutch mechanism adjusted for neutral operation, while series ,f, f1 and f2 are corresponding views in elevation.

Likewise, series 9, yr and ye are plan views for each quarter revolution of the drive shaft with the clutch mechanismadjusted for reverse motion of the driven shaft, while series h, hl and hz are corresponding views in elevation.

Aside from the fact that the sealed cylinder functions as part of the clutchmechanism, it protects the enclosed elements against dust and dirt, and can be utilized as an oil reservoir for assuring continuous and automatic lubrication of such elements.

While I have disclosed my invention in its preferred form, the same is subject to change and alteration without departing from the underlying principles involved, and I accordingly do not desire to be limited in my protection to the specific details illustrated and described, except as may be necessitated by the appended claim.

I claim;

A reversible drive comprising a drive shaft; a driven shaft; a crank on the end of each of said shafts, each crankhincluding an arm normal to its shaft and a pin extending from said arm parallel to such shaft; a link including a swivel block at each end, said link being supported between said cranks with each of said swivel blocks slidably mounted on one of said pins; a cross-bar slidably receivable by said linkjin a direction normal thereto; a fixed anchorage in the form of a fixed collar surrounding said driven shaft, and clutch means for selectively connecting said cross-bar in drive connection with either said drive shaft or said fixed collar, said clutch means including a cylinder enclosing said cranks and link, with said cross-bar disposed diametrically of said cylinder and having its ends anchored to the wall thereof, said cylinder having end plates constituting fixed clutch plates, a disc slidably mounted on each of said shafts with the drive shaft disc keyed thereto for rotation therewith, the driven shaft disc keyed to said fixed collar, and shift means for selectively shifting saiddiscs into and out of engagement with their associated clutch plates.

LOUIS E. MISIPPO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are 'of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name I Date 1,173,567 Gerber Feb. 29, 1916 1,369,573 ,Sturbelle Feb. 22, 1921 2,004,827 Quinn June 11, 1935 

